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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to cancel my gym membership in a strop?

20 replies

Spockster · 15/12/2011 13:21

I phone up membership services to cancel my husband's gym membership, as he hasn't been using it much. I wanted to keep mine, as I do go. We are out of contract, but I was told they they "have to" take another payment out for his membership at the end of this month, despite knowing he won't use it. I sais I thought that was unreasonable, as we have both been paying monthly for more than 2 years, and asked them to waive it, otherwise I would cancel both our memberships. He put me on hold to speak to his manager,m then came back and started with" My manager says she doesn't like being blackmailed, but...". Though he was clearly leading on to offer a deal, I hit the roof. How dare they acuse a customer of blackmail! I cancelled both memberships. Now I only have until the end of January to lose a stone :-(
In this economic climate, the arrogance of this business amazes me, they deserve to go bankrupt, but'twill be very sad for all the lovely staff and i will really miss going to the gym! I will PAYG at the local council one or go running outside come springtime. Either way I will save a fortune, but if they had just been more civil, LA wouldn't have lost a customer.

OP posts:

pinkappleby · 15/12/2011 13:27

Isn't it usual to give a full months notice?

I think you have cut your nose off to spite your face tbh. The staff member was clumsy in how he phrased thinigs but you were trying to blackmail them weren't you?

FredFredGeorge · 15/12/2011 13:28

You were absolutely right to cancel, well done. Join a running club and get running now in the winter, with a group it's good and safe in the dark and they'll be new lovely people.

EmpireBiscuit · 15/12/2011 13:29

I can see how it would be annoying but it is usual to give a months notice for these things so effectively you were blackmailing them...

I would have done the same though!

AKMD · 15/12/2011 13:30

I was going to say YABU but the blackmail comment would have got me seething too. At my gym the notice period is 3 months so I'm not surprised this month's payment has to come out though.

itsbrandybutterandtinseltime · 15/12/2011 13:33

I think it was rather poor customer service to accuse you of blackmailing! I can see where you're coming from, but perhaps if you'd have hung on they'd have given you a better deal and you could've complained about their choice of words later?

DorisIsMerryOnChristmasSprits · 15/12/2011 13:34

It's normal for the months notice, I would imagine it's in all the gumf you got when you joined up.

So whilst you were trying to negiotiate really you had very little room for manoevere as you had already agreed to the notice period.

So YABU

tigermoll · 15/12/2011 13:37

YANBU to cancel your gym membership, - obviously you are free to do that at any time, and for any reason, you wish.

But YABabitU to try to insist they change the rules for you and save you a month's membership. It is usual to give a month's notice, - it's halfway through December, it's not like its the first of the month.

And were they U to accuse you of blackmail? Well, strictly speaking, it wasn't blackmail, but you were using the threat of cancelling your membership to try to manipulate them into doing what you wanted. Which they were prepared to do, but with a bit of grumbling. You then hit the roof. Which is U.

scarletforya · 15/12/2011 13:44

A gym I was in started this crap with me so I cancelled the Direct Debit. They sent a letter which tried to sound threatening, I laughed heartily as I threw it in the bin. Never heard from them again.

FredFredGeorge · 15/12/2011 13:45

DorisIsMerryOnChristmasSprits She had huge room for negotiation! A continued membership for however long she was going to remain a member was what she had to offer, against 1 months membership money lost by waiving the fee, any company would be bonkers not to accept that deal. Getting customers is one of the big costs of gyms.

I'm pretty susprised people are so accepting of prices and policies, rather than seeing them as a place to start negotiations.

scarletforya · 15/12/2011 13:46

Oh and YANBU, most gyms rake in cash on members who never use the gym.

If every 'member' were to turn up at the same time the gym would never be able to accommodate even a tenth of them. So feck them quite frankly.

Original poster

Spockster · 15/12/2011 13:49

Well, a month's notice would have been to 15th January, but they wanted to take an additonal payment on 31st December, to pay for membership for the whole of January. I don't think that is reasonable, especially outside the contract (which was for 2 years, more than 2 years ago). Yes, I have cut off my nose to spite my face to a certain extent, but given that they are a profit-making customer service organisation, they are the bigger losers surely? The improved offer was that they would waive the fee, but if I left the gym within a period of time they would reinstate it. Which sounds eminently reasonable to me, and I would have gone for it if he hadn't been so offensive. So I may be being U to take such offence at being accused of blackmail, but what happened to trying to keep the customer happy? Running is bad for my pelvic floor, anyway.

OP posts:

niceguy2 · 15/12/2011 13:51

YANBU to use the threat of cancellation of both to get your agreed month's notice waived.

YABU to cut off your own nose to spite your face by hitting the roof when biting your tongue for a few moments more would have got you what you want.

YABU to get mad at the staff for accusing you of blackmail when it sort of is and expecting them to not be upset at the idea of being presented with morton's fork.

tigermoll · 15/12/2011 13:54

what happened to trying to keep the customer happy?

Hmmm, - that doesn't mean that the gym ought to bend over backwards to accomadate a customer's every whim, because of the threat of said customer going elsewhere.

but given that they are a profit-making customer service organisation, they are the bigger losers surely?

Give it two weeks, and that gym will be awash with with guilt-stricken new-years-resolution-fuelled new business. Most of whom will sign up for twelve months and only go twice.

I've worked in a LOT of customer service/retail jobs, and I can tell you that most people you encounter will respond a lot better to polite and friendly requests than high-handed 'I shall take my business elsewhere' threats. The person you are speaking to is very rarely a shareholder of the business, and so, ultimately, they only care so much about the company profits.

LadyClariceCannockMonty · 15/12/2011 13:54

YANBU. The essence of good customer service is not thinking that the customer is always right (obviously they aren't), but always behaving as if they are. Accusing you of blackmail, whatever the terms of your agreement were, is a serious error. If I were you I'd write them a 'farewell' letter spelling out exactly what was so offensive about the last exchange you had. And join a different gym if you don't fancy running.

Cherriesarelovely · 15/12/2011 13:57

I agree OP. They were BU and petty and the blackmailing comment was the straw that broke the camels back. It was very offensive. I don't blame you. I reiterate what FredFred said though, I have been running for 7 years (not non stop!) and it is almost free -you only really need buy trainers. You can just open your front door and go for a run. Another cool little gadget I use at home if it is icy or I can't get a babysitter is my "Gymboss" It is a little timer that you can set to various intervals and do your own simple interval training session to e.g reps of squats, skipping, plank whatever! Sorry, probably too much info there. I am just very evangelical about not needing to go to the gym!

Original poster

Spockster · 15/12/2011 14:03

Yes,I considered a letter, but figure it might make me feel better to vent but the letter will go straight in the bin, they don't really care about retaining old customers it's the new ones who make them money, as Tigermoll says. There are lots of internet forum discussions involving disgruntled LA Fitness customers. I was not at all horrid to him, I was clearly cross and didn't try to hide it, but I asked nicely for the fee to be waived. It was all going swimmingly until I was accused of blackmail, but even then I was polite but told him that he probably shouldn't have passed on the comment his manager made, to me.

OP posts:

Original poster

Spockster · 15/12/2011 14:04

My plan for 2012 is to get a babysitter once a week and taken the old man out for a run, with a stop off at the local on the way home. Wii fit and the odd daylight run on my own in between times. Should work out at rather less than 80 quid a month...

OP posts:

eurochick · 15/12/2011 14:09

Presumably you and your husband signed up to a contract with terms in it allowing them to do this when you joined a gym? If so, YABU.

But they WBU to accuse you of blackmail. That is appaling customer service.

cazzaR79 · 21/12/2011 07:46

Sounds like a pretty bad experience and I think you were right in the action you took. If more people stood up to this kind of business practise then it wouldn't happen as much!!! If you are struggling to find decent gyms in London to use on PAYG and also want to make sure you are not spending a fortune then you should look up www.payasugym.com which is a website that lets you visit loads of gyms without being a member. I use two different gyms in London now, one which is pretty basic and close to work but costs me less than a fiver, and then there is a spa gym down the road from where I live which I could never afford to be a member at but pay as u gym do discounted day passes there. I try and go once a month as a treat if I hit my targets! Hope this helps!

fedupneighbour · 23/10/2023 22:49

Lol YABU

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